Isabella Guido
I am working in the department of Synthetic and Quantitative biology. My main research interests involve electrotaxis, cell motility, synthetic biology and bioengineering. I am currently involved in two main projects:
Electrotaxis in Dictyostelium discoideum
The research focuses on the mechanics of cells under the stimulus of a DC electric field and on the dynamics of intracellular molecular signals that are triggered by the electrical stimulation. Cells show a sensing mechanism for the applied electric stimulation, which enable them to get polarized and migrate toward the cathode. A fascinating question is understanding the molecular signals underlying this mechanism. Dictyostelium discoideum is an excellent model system to study the molecular mechanisms of cell migration and polarity signals in the electric field and this analysis may provide a complementary insight into the dynamics of subcellular and molecular processes underlying cell movements. Currently we are interested in the role that specific proteins play in the transduction of the electric stimulus into directed migration.
Development of synthetic Cilia
This project is part of the research network MaxSynBio (http://www.maxsynbio.mpg.de), focusing on the scientific exploration of bottom-up synthetic biology, for elucidating fundamental mechanisms of living systems. The task of my study is the development of ciliated systems able to propel themselves forward or to move the fluid across a fixed surface. The achievements of the current work let to understand the dynamics of synthetic biological structures.
Contact details
Room 2.10
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-organisation
Am Fassberg 17
37077 Goettingen, Germany
Tel.: +49 551-5176-306
Mail: isabella.guido@ds.mpg.de